


Fecundity

by Gaby007



Series: A/B/O around the world [4]
Category: The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alien Gender/Sexuality, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, Heterosexuality, Homosexuality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27563980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gaby007/pseuds/Gaby007
Summary: "Wait, you're a man, and I'm female, but since you're Omega and I'm a Beta, we're currently in a gay relationship?" In which Ian finds himself explaining weird sexual dynamics to Wanda, for once.
Relationships: Ian O'Shea/Wanderer
Series: A/B/O around the world [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2013358
Kudos: 13





	Fecundity

After getting to spend her previous nine lives each on a different planet, Wanda genuinely believed she was fully prepared to face any strangeness regarding gender and sex issues.

It would be kind of short-sighted to assume everything would be the same everywhere -- and even when it _looked_ similar, there were still big differences. Just look at Origin and the See Weeds and the Flowers: the basics were the same -- a single organism producing several hundreds of offspring without external assistance -- but neither the See Weeds nor the Flowers needed to die for birthing their younglings, and where the See Weeds produced essentially cloned seeds through parthenogenesis the Flowers needed to fertilize themselves as they were hermaphroditic organisms. Same core principle, but _hugely_ divergent processes.

It started to become weird when you added gender to the recipe: the Dolphins needed three of these -- one for laying eggs, one to fertilize and one to incubate -- the Bats were born "male" and became "female" once they reached their equivalent of menopause, and Bears actually were agender until they decided it was time to mate, then one could become a male or a female without any control of the final decision.

It made the Fire-tasters look almost _restful_ : male sees female, male has sex with female, male leaves female to whelp her litter alone, female leaves the litter to fend for themselves. No shenanigans of any kind.

Wanda tried to keep an open mind, she really did, and yet she was there, unexpectedly annoyed by Earth's fiendishly intricate gender system, primary and secondary.

"So let me sum up", she almost growled at Ian, who adressed her a crooked smile, "you are a male. I am female. But we're currently in a gay relationship because our secondaries don't fit each other?"

"Welll", Ian sighed, slightly dragging the last consonant, "it's not about fitting together -- because we do, we really do, and really good..."

"I don't need you to remind me _this_ ", Wanda tried to snap, but a traitorous flush warmed her neck and cheeks.

"This is about having children. Or rather, how _complicated_ it is to have children with a specific partner."

On the matter of children, Wanda had quite the divided opinion. She couldn't envision motherhood as a Soul. She would gleefully commit murder for Jamie, a boy without the slightest bit of shared DNA with her. She felt reluctant towards the possibility of Pet's body enduring a pregnancy.

Maybe _complicated_ was a good thing for her.

"Well, you're male", she pointed.

"And I'm _Omega_ ", Ian sighed. "It's much more easy to fall pregnant, since any O man has really low sperm count. Just like it's easier for an Alpha lady to sire a kid on someone else, but carrying their own baby often fails. Oh, you still can, but you will probably need to see a doctor _a lot_ before it takes."

Wanda considered the information. It... made sense. The secondary genders exerced a potent influence on people, almost more powerful than the primary ones that determined the biological presentation.

Life was all about perpetuating itself, wasn't it? So people would be biaised towards fertile couplings, in which it would be easy to reproduce...

"Ian", Wanda slowly articulated, "if I still was within Melanie's body, I could easily have a child with you, isn't it?"

Ian blinked.

"She's Alpha, if that's what you mean. But I'm not interested in Melanie, I want you."

The Soul couldn't help but feel a knot forming in her belly.

"You're saying that now... what if you change your mind?"

Because he _could_. Instincts were powerful, and the urge to have a legacy, to leave a breathing reminder of your existence was one of the strongest ever seen in the Universe. Would her partner -- her mate -- start to resent her, for not having the ability to fulfill a craving of his?

"Wanda", Ian sighed, his eyes so blue it almost hurt to directly look at them, "I know what I want now -- what I love now, and this is you. Alpha or Beta, I choose you, and I can't imagine choosing anything else than you. Maybe later, I would like a kid, but I don't want for them to have another mother than you. But if we can't get a kid, that's okay too, because we won't be alone, remember? You're mine, and I'm yours."

This time, the blush fully engulfed Wanda's being in its delicious warmth. _You're mine and I'm yours, forever and a day, forever and always._

"You're saying that now", she nonetheless repeated, without any energy behind the words.

Ian's lips pleasantly burned on Wanda's forehead.

"Yes, because we are in the now. And, I said it would be _complicated_ , not _impossible_. One chance on a million still is a chance, you know?"

Wanda would have protested it wasn't a _big_ chance, but... well, look at her, a Soul happily mated to a Human, living among Humans. If _that_ wasn't really improbable, then what was it? So she wouldn't raise an objection over it.

Besides, kissing Ian was more pressing. And enjoyable.

**Author's Note:**

> For people wanting more of an explanation:
> 
> Being gay in the Omegaverse as I see it is feeling attracted to people with which conceiving is difficult or outright impossible. So Omega Ian being in love with Wanda in Alpha Melanie's body is a straight relationship, but Omega Ian being in love with Wanda in her second Beta body is a gay relationship. Does it help?
> 
> Oh, and I think Melanie and Jared are a gay couple, too, but I can't decide if Jared is more of a Beta or an Alpha.


End file.
